It's only six weeks until the Tour of Britain hits the Isle of Wight...and now local organisers are asking us to get involved in a big way.

Visit Isle of Wight wants Islanders to show off their home to the big global TV audience who will watch the cycling spectacular...much as French towns and villages do during the Tour De France.

Visit IW say there are plenty of ways to show support; from reusing Union Flag

bunting from the Jubilee celebrations or Isle of Wight Day, to dressing your

property, shop fronts and windows.

The say: "Why not dig out that old bike, decorate it, hang it high — or leave it down low — just make it stand out for the cameras.

"Cafes, bars and restaurants could have some fun with a special cycling themed

menu."

Isle of Wight County Press: Land art...can the Isle of Wight do better?Land art...can the Isle of Wight do better?

This month, Visit IW and the IW Council also launched an Island-wide Land Art

competition.

Visit IW said: "The tradition of creating land art masterpieces along the route has

long been the practice at the Tour of Britain, as well as other cycle races around

the world including the Tour de France."

Winning entries could collect a £50 Wight Gift card voucher for their efforts.

Read more: Where and when you can watch the Isle of Wight leg of Tour of Britain.

Read more: Mountbatten chosen as Tour of Britain charity.

The tour of Britain starts in Aberdeenshire on September 4 and arrives on the Isle of Wight a week later.

Stage 8, the final leg of the race, spans 150km and passes through the Island’s towns and villages.

After starting in Ryde at 11am, the race will pass through Bembridge, Sandown, Rookley, Shorwell, Mottistone, Freshwater, Yarmouth, Shalfleet, Cowes, Newport,

Godshill, Shanklin, Ventnor and Niton to finish at the National Trust’s Needles Battery around 3.30pm.

Wightlink, Red Funnel and South Western Railways are partners of the Tour of Britain Isle of Wight stage, alongside Isle of Wight Council and Visit IW.

The race will be televised live on ITV4 in the UK and shown in over 150 countries worldwide, via Eurosport and the Global Cycling Network. A one-hour highlights show will also be broadcast each evening.

* GKN Aerospace has signed up to support the Isle of Wight stage of the Tour of Britain, as the official fan hub sponsor for the final leg of the national tour.